Chapter 4

He snapped his head up.

At the far end of the road, another escort party was moving toward them — enormous, formal, unmistakable.

At the front, eight attendants carried a formal carriage. Ceremony banner-holders flanked every side. Behind them, a procession of gifts and goods stretched for miles.

Red ribbons lined the road. Music filled the air. The whole street went quiet.

At the head of the procession, Dorian Ravencroft rode on horseback.

He was dressed in a formal black Bonding suit, his hair held back by a gold pin. He looked down at Cain from above.

"My mate's name is also something you get to throw around, Sterling? Are you tired of living?"

Cain went completely still.

He stood there staring at me, then up at Dorian on horseback.

"Elara, what's going on? Why is the Alpha King saying you're his mate?"

I lifted my dress and walked past him toward the procession.

"Because today is our Bonding Ceremony."

I didn't look back. "Cain, don't make me late."

I heard his footsteps behind me. He moved to grab my arm. Ravencroft's Pack Enforcers stepped in and blocked him.

Cain's voice went unsteady. "You — what are you saying? You have a Mate Claim with me. You can only Bond with me. How could you—"

I turned around to face him. "I'm Elara Whitmore. I don't come in as anyone's secondary mate."

Cain's face flushed red.

"That was a temporary arrangement. I explained everything — Vivienne's situation—"

I cut him off. "I don't care about Vivienne's situation."

"What I know is this: you claimed me as your Chosen Mate when I was fifteen. I waited three years, then three more. Every time, you told me to wait, to step back, to hold on."

"Cain, I'm done."

I turned and got into the carriage.

The curtain fell as I settled inside. Through the gap I could see Cain still standing in the road, completely lost.

Dorian pulled back on his reins and looked down at Cain.

"Cain Sterling, you just said you'd be bringing Elara in as your Secondary Mate?"

Cain looked up at him.

Dorian smiled. That smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I'm curious. Since when does a daughter of the Whitmore Pack — the future Luna Queen of Ravencroft — need to come in as second to anyone in Sterling Pack?"

"Or are you telling me that Sterling Pack's standing is somehow above mine?"

Cain finally dropped his gaze. "I wouldn't dare."

"Alpha King, I simply had a prior Mate Claim with her—"

Dorian pulled a folded document from his jacket. "This is the Alpha King Council's decree."

"The Bond between myself and Elara Whitmore was formally sanctioned by the Alpha King Council, documented in the official records, and the Bonding Ceremony today is known across the Capital Territory."

He tucked the decree back into his jacket and looked down at Cain.

"Actually, let's talk about you, Sterling."

"By rights, you should be at the Northern Borderlands right now. How is it that you're standing here in the Capital? I'm guessing you never received the Council's urgent dispatch."

Cain's face changed.

Dorian continued. "Abandoning your post and returning to the Capital without authorization. That's a capital offense under Pack law. Do you think the Alpha King knows?"

All the color drained from Cain's face.

Dorian had already turned his horse back toward the procession. He raised one hand toward his escort. "Move out. Let's bring our Luna home."

The music started and the carriage lifted smoothly into motion.

I sat inside and watched through the gap in the curtain as Cain stood in the road.

His eyes followed the carriage. I let the curtain fall.

By the time the ceremony ended, it was dark.

Ravencroft Manor was lit up everywhere. The guests filtered out one by one.

The door opened and Dorian walked in, stopping behind me.

He reached up and touched the hairpiece on my head. He smiled, and it was unusually soft.

"Cain's outside. He says he wants to see you."

I looked at him in the copper mirror. "I don't want to see Cain."

Dorian made a gesture with his hand. I read it and was genuinely surprised.

He asked, "Do you want to see him now?"

I nodded. "I can see him."

Dorian found me a private chamber and posted guards outside the door.

When I pushed the door open, I found a room full of people.

Cain stood in the middle. His warriors were behind him.

Vivienne was there too.

When the warriors saw me, they dropped to their knees all at once.

"Elara — please forgive Alpha Sterling."

Another one shuffled forward on his knees.

"Elara, the Alpha truly loves you. He talked about you every day at the borderlands. We all heard it."

"That's right. He fought with your embroidered keepsake on him the whole time. Said when the campaign was over he'd come back to you. He said that for three years. We all heard it for three years."

"Elara, he only has eyes for you. That keepsake — he wouldn't let anyone touch it."

"Elara, you and Cain grew up together. All those years — you can't just—"

I listened to them list out everything Cain had ever done for me. I felt nothing.

Then Vivienne spoke. "Enough."

She was the only one in the room who hadn't knelt.